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Monday, July 11, 2016

It's not easy sharing the gospel, I'll be the first to admit it. I'm an
extrovert, and even I find it hard to walk up to someone and hand them a
tract at times. Because more often than not, they look at me like I've
just flown in from Mars. Some people immediately throw the tract in the
trash. Others awkwardly thank me. Some don't even say anything. It's
uncomfortable. But then I am reminded of this verse.
Isaiah 55:11 "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I
please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

You many not think it means much by handing that Starbucks barista a
tract. Maybe she throws it away. "What a waste," you think. But did you
stop to think about the janitor who sees it in the waste basket? The
trash-man who finds it when it drops out of the garbage can? You see,
God uses His word in amazing ways. Ways that we could never think of.
Sometimes God has already been working in a person's life (someone has
already planted a seed) and He can use you to work in this person's life
even more (watering the seed).

1 Corinthians 3:6 "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase."

Did you know that by handing out just one tract, or telling just one
person about the gospel, you have the possibility of changing
generations?

Don't believe me? Let me tell you a true story.

On March 23rd, 1912, in Gate City, Virginia, a boy named John Carter was
born. When this boy was 10 years old, his father died. John went to
school like all the other children, but only until fourth grade. When he
was a teenager, his mother left his family. John and his eight siblings
were left to fend for themselves.

John had made a profession of faith at the age of 12, but it is unknown
whether it was genuine. If it was, he did not grow in the Lord or choose
to live for the Lord. In his teens and early twenties, life grew very
rough for John. He drank. He gambled. And he was always running from
people who wanted to get him on drugs. He owned a piece of a pool hall.
He even went to jail for a time.

Sometime in his 30s, John went to a prayer meeting. During that prayer
meeting he heard the gospel and was convicted... And John either
accepted Christ as his personal Savior or rededicated his life to the
Lord, depending on whether his profession at age 12 was real or not.
From this point on, his life changed forever.

When he was 34, he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana and began attending
church there. He met a woman named Marilyn in July of 1946. Two months
later, they were married. John had a deep burden for sharing the gospel.
He wanted so badly to talk to people who had been like him - drunks,
gamblers- and show them that there is hope. For around 40 years, he would go to
the city jail every Sunday morning and hold a service there. In the
summertime, he would go to University Park in Indianapolis every Sunday
afternoon with his family and preach there. He was even put in jail for a
time for "disturbing the peace", though the charge was soon dropped and he was released. Not everyone appreciated his
preaching.

John helped start the Good News Mission, which still exists today, and
was even president of it for a while. Even before that, he would go to Indy restaurants at
night and take their left-over food to the mission. He would
participate in many evening services there during the week, where rough
people would come and the smell of alcohol lingered in the air.

John even traveled back to his hometown in Virginia simply to share the
gospel there. While on vacation, he and his family would toss tracts out the window of
their car (before littering was against the law).

John was a witness to his own lost family and many of siblings were
saved. He died in 1995. But his wife Marilyn is still living, at the age
of 91. She continues to be faithful in sharing the gospel by handing
out tracts to doctors and nurses and restaurant workers. She puts a
tract in every bill before she mails it.

Why do I tell you all this? To show you that sharing the gospel is no
small matter. Someone chose to tell John about the love of Jesus. And
even though he went through years of drinking and gambling and sinning,
his life was changed forever when he accepted Jesus. Not only his life
was changed,but his family's as well. Generations were literally
changed.

How do I know this? Because I am a member of one of those generations. John Carter was my great-grandfather.

Though I regret deeply that I never was able to meet him (he
died a few years before I was born), I have known my Grandma Marilyn
my entire life. I have seen their children serve and love the Lord, and
their children's children. I want to follow in their wonderful example. I
cannot wait to meet Grandpa Carter one day. Right now he is rejoicing
and serving his Lord. :)

Friends, never forget what sharing the gospel can do. Obeying the Lord will never be a waste of your time.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

It's been a while since I've posted, so here are a few things that have been going on.

After our twenty-year-old cat died in December, we got two brand new kitties! They are siblings, a boy and a girl. Their names are Oswald George and Harriet Louise, from you guessed it... The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (if you haven't seen that darling show, you must). Our kitties are known as Ozzie and Harri around here, unless they are in trouble. Which is actually a regular occurrence.

Secondly... I aged on the 17th. (Which means we had a party, whoot whoot!). I turned 17.

Papa found a friend.

How to make a girl happy: Give her clothes and chocolate. YES.

Ma frere and I.

I blew out all of the candles but two. *sigh* And it keeps getting harder every year! ;)

Lastly, here a few pictures from our Independence Day celebration. :)

My Great-Grandma. Always doing some sort of puzzle from the newspaper. :)

Second cousins. :)

My little buddy Maddax. What a sweetie he is!

That's it for now! I'm trying to get back into posting more regularly. Hopefully I'll be back soon. :)

About Me

Hey, there. I'm Kathryn, an 18 year-old Christian who dreams of one day being an author. I'm a major extrovert, Starbucks lover, math hater, violin and piano player, dill pickle addict, sports nerd and an I Love Lucy fanatic. I dream of owning a 1970's truck. Chatty Kathy is my blog, and if you don't mind my wackiness, please stick around! :)